Founder transitions are different from every other leadership transition. They require boards to distinguish loyalty to a founder from responsibility for the organization’s future.

When nonprofit boards drift from governance into management, leadership authority becomes unclear and strategic work suffers. Clear roles strengthen both boards and leaders.

Most nonprofit boards eventually face a decision they would rather not make. Not a routine vote about a budget or a new program. Not a discussion about next year’s strategic priorities. A harder decision. Sometimes it involves leadership. Sometimes it involves ending a program that has been part of the organization for years. Occasionally it involves confronting the possibility that the organization itself may need to change course. Boards rarely arrive at these moments sudde